Ikebukuro

Ikebukuro is one of the subcenters of Tokyo, and is located 4.5 km
north of Shinjuku.

Ikebukuro station is the center of the area.
It is the junction of JR Yamanote and Saikyo Lines, and the terminal
stations of Seibu Line and Tobu Tojo Line are also there.
So more than 2.7 million people a day use this station, and it ranks
second after Shinjuku station in Japan, also in the world.

The downtown Ikebukuro is relatively narrower area than Shinjuku or
Shibuya, and the residental areas spread around the downtown.

On the east side of Ikebukuro station, there are the department stores
such as Seibu and PARCO, and the shopping area extends to the east.
And there is the large building complex "Sunshine City" at about 0.5 km
east of the station.

On the west side of the station, there is the big "Tobu Department
Store" which has the largest food floor and much restaurants in Tokyo.
And near the station, there are a concert hall "Tokyo Metropolitan Art
Space" and other small theaters.

These shopping area is the competitive market of ramen restaurants and
Kaiten-zushi (belt-conveyor sushi restaurant).
They are sometimes featured in magazines, so we can find some
restaurants that the visitors are waiting in a queue.

Through the east part of Ikebukuro area, the line of streetcar
(Toden)
runs.
It is the only line in Tokyo. It runs through the residental area but
there are few sightseeing spots along the line.

Sunshine City /1/

It
is a building complex located 0.5 km east of Ikebukuro station.
The main building is "Sunshine 60" which has 60 stories and is 240
meters high, and some other buildings and an underground mall are
attached to it.
On the 60th floor in Sunshine 60, there is the observatory room, which
is at the highest level in Tokyo.
In the building "World Import Mart" next to Sunshine 60, there are a
unique food theme park "NAMCO Nanjatown", "Sunshine International
Aquarium" and "Konica Minolta Planetarium".

Otome Road /2/

It is the
street with the anime or manga shops for girls and ladies, and is
located on the west side of Sunshine City. "Otome" means "maiden".
There are several shops along the street, and they sell books, CDs,
DVDs
and other goods of anime or manga. Of course, most of visitors are
girls or young ladies, but recently male visitors are increasing.
Unlike Akihabara, it looks like an ordinary shop street, and we find
few cosplaying people.
In Akihabara there are some "maid cafes", but here are some "butler
cafes".
Cosplaying male "butlers" serve the princesses (you !) very
respectfully.

Kishimojin temple
/3/

It
is a Buddhist temple in Homyoji of Nichiren Buddhism since the 14th
century, and "Kishimojin" (or "Kishibojin") is the guardian deity of
children and the goddess of easy delivery.
It is located about 0.8 km south of Ikebukuro station.
This temple was founded in 1578, and the main building was built in
1664 and is designated as a tangible cultural properties of Tokyo.

Gokokuji temple /4/

It is
a temple of Japanese Shingon Buddhist sect and is located about 1.2 km
southeast of Sunshine City.
It was built in 1681 by Tsunayoshi Tokugawa, the 5th Shogun of Edo
government, for his mother Keishoin.
In 1873, Emperor Meiji declared here the Imperial mausoleum and several
of his children are buried there. This mausoleum is on the east half of
this site of the temple, but the public people cannot enter there.
The main hall and Gekkoden, a guesthouse, are designated as a
nationally important cultural properties.

Scenic or Nature / Park or Garden / Resort / City, Town or Village / Quarter or Street / Temple or Shrine / Museum or Laboratory / Market or Commercial facility / Factory / Other Building or Construction / Historic place / Remains / World Heritage Site